Apparently, the father of one of my high school classmates is either partially or wholly responsible for this monument. While I would not want to get into a pissing match with my friends and relatives, I haven't lived there for decades so I have no standing to file a lawsuit to remove it. The monument has, indeed, been erected on public property. I haven't seen the monument, but given the location shown in this photo I know exactly where it is positioned -- it is in front of an intersection facing oncoming traffic, but people will only be able to see that there is a monument as it is likely too far away to be read clearly. It also happens to be placed directly in front of the building that was the old jail.

I am dumbfounded, but I am not surprised. I'm wondering why it has taken so long for this to occur, and yet I am wondering why it is occurring now. It hasn't been the 1950s for at least 60 years.

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John 14:2 :: In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

This same thing happened some years ago in the city where I grew up and still live. They put a Ten Commandments monument in a city park. Then to resolve the problem with a religious monument in a city park the Lions Club bought that little spot in the park and put a 3 12 foot wrought iron fence around it. It actually looks terrible, but they didn't want to move it. Oh well.

those aren't even the right ten... I could live with it if they had that commandment in there about seething a goat in it's mother's milk. Damn, I hate it when christians go boiling goats - they need reminded!!!

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If xian hell really exists, the stench of the burning billions of us should be a constant, putrid reminder to the handful of heavenward xians how loving their god is. - neopagan

Wow. I find it so hard to believe that there are those who feel that this list represents that highest moral standards that we should all strive for. It is such a random list, and so much of it is dated and out of context. Graven images and the Sabbath seem so irrelevant, and to place them in the same set of stone as killing and stealing and lying seems .... just silly. The coveting stuff? I agree with the sentiment. But it should be a goal, because we really do all do it from time to time. So it sort of lowers the standards of the whole thing, doesn't it? If I look at the new subway tile backsplash that my friend put in when she remodeled her kitchen, and think about how I would love to remodel my kitchen and put in a new subway tile backsplash, is that really as bad as murdering my neighbor? They just don't quite seem parallel.

It would seem that listing these commandments in stone, and expecting people to read them and think about them would result in some good healthy doubt, Wouldn't it?

I think a group should first put up another plaque right next to it, with ten other biblical commandments, like about sleeping with your dead brother's wife, clean and unclean people, dietary rules, instructions for sacrifices, what to wear and so forth.

And then another one with the Five Pillars of Islam.

And then another one with nogodsforme's new and improved Ten Suggestions.

And then another one with the Prime Directive.

And then another one with the Toll House Cookie recipe.

The park will look like a grave yard, there will be so many monuments and plaques. It will be a tourist attraction and the town will charge money for people to come and see it. Win, win, win.

those aren't even the right ten... I could live with it if they had that commandment in there about seething a goat in it's mother's milk. Damn, I hate it when christians go boiling goats - they need reminded!!!

Yes, one could complain that their commandments are not only poorly worded, but incorrect. We could argue about which 10 out of the 17? and from which three parts of the bible are the correct commandments ...

I think a group should first put up another plaque right next to it, with ten other biblical commandments, like about sleeping with your dead brother's wife, clean and unclean people, dietary rules, instructions for sacrifices, what to wear and so forth.

And then another one with nogodsforme's new and improved Ten Suggestions.

And then another one with the Prime Directive.

And then another one with the Toll House Cookie recipe.

How about the recipe for Original Recipe Kentucky Fried Chicken or the formula for Coca-Cola (classic) with bible quotes interspersed in alternating lines? Get a private company to sue the government over their recipes and inherently peg them as being anti-Christians and anti-god ...

Wow. I find it so hard to believe that there are those who feel that this list represents that highest moral standards that we should all strive for.

I had to once argue with a man who (now deceased) was quite fairly intelligent and was proud of the fact that he was able to become a member of MENSA. He was also a mason, and he had attended about 2.5 years of law school before dropping out. He once told me that our laws are based on the Ten Commandments. I just looked straight at him with such incredulity. I told him that he was demonstrably not so and asked him how the law requires us to "honor they mother and father". Exactly how does that work? He couldn't do it, of course, and he knew he couldn't do it. He then downshifted to "our laws are inspired by" them. I asked him if he knew about the Code of Hammurabi, and he did. I told him there was far more to our laws from that Code than anything in the bible and he was forced to agree with me. He knew he was arguing from a desire rather than from a fact. Still, here is someone arguing about something that he knows is not true just to proclaim his Christian identity. Oy!

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John 14:2 :: In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

IV Thou shall be as animals regarding sex: it shall be only for reproduction. Thou shalt not express love, whether the deepest love or just affection, through sex. Thou shall repress any other of thy desires until they are corrupted for then thou shall be a true deviant desiring pain or children or animals or even the dead.

V Thou shalt not tolerate any homosexual and thou shall seeketh to oppress them at every turn. A Thou shall avow the Bible story of David & Jonathan in 1st & 2nd Samuel to be that of "brothers" and ignoreth the many aspects asserting a sexual relationship. B Thou shall deny, far more than three times, that Jesus dismissed the rules in Levitcus in favor of following the goodness in one's heart. C If thou art a homosexual, thou shall repress thy desires until they are distorted and severely twisted for then thou shall be without question a monster. Thy only recourse shall be the priesthood where thou shall be protected no matter what abominations thou commiteth.

VI Obsessive "compassion" for non-humans shall surpasseth compassion for humans. A The not-yet-human: Thou shalt prevaricate and assaulteth other humans even unto death to save the life of a fetus. The lives of the persons already living shall be nothing to thou when thou are working to stop those who care for actual people. B The no-longer-human: Thou shalt forceth the dead to remain achored to the Earth for as long as life support can sustaineth the brain dead body. C The not-even-human: Thou shalt endanger other humans to save the lives of lesser creatures. The safety of the persons already living shall be nothing to thou when thou are working to save animals.

VII Thou shalt twist and distort history, science, and the Bible to support thy political goals.

IX Thou shalt forceth others to live by the tenets of thy religion even while thou doest not.

X Thou shall pay the socially appropriate lip service to God and thy religion. Thy church attendance shall be manditory only for weddings and on the recognized religious holidays but optional at all other times.These are the ones that really provide the Xians with their biggest erections.

Given the horrid mess the bible is, you should add something to the end of, say, commandment III "This commandment, above all others, is set in stone and shall never be altered in the least!" ... and then, a few commandments down ... alter commandment III

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2 Interwebs 7:42And in the seventh year, thou shalt cast out the Nam from thine assembly for he haveth a potty mouth.

Given the horrid mess the bible is, you should add something to the end of, say, commandment III "This commandment, above all others, is set in stone and shall never be altered in the least!" ... and then, a few commandments down ... alter commandment III

Prompted by your suggestion, I'm thinking of adding to the end of II (since it deals with lying): "Thou shalt never admit to following these commandments and always decryeth such accurate portrayals of oneself."I know, not quite the same but it does touch upon the messed up circular nature of the bible.

Contact the FFRF -- they love going after this sort of thing. They'll threaten to sue the town, and while most towns fight it at first, most towns will usually cave because they don't have the funds for a protracted legal fight which they'll likely lose.

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There is no opinion so absurd that a preacher could not express it.-- Bernie Katz

I didn't realize that constitutional issues could be decided by Facebook polls.

Also, if the ten commandments has historical value, then place it in a museum along with other things that have historical value. Photos of homicides also have historical value. Should we put photos of murder victims on display in our court houses to deter people from being immoral?

What is most astonishing is the total absence of logic, but when has there ever been logic to religion?

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John 14:2 :: In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.